Predicting UFC 331

Zak Drapeau

2 hours ago

8 min read

by Zak Drapeau and Matt Hylen

Sportz Nation - 9/18/2026

In our FN Noche Silva v Delgado Predictions, which you can find here,

Zak went 4-2 in picks with 3 methods for 7 points.

Matt went 4-2 in picks with 0 methos for 4 points.

Points To Date:

Zak: 185 (122-68)

Matt: 164 (108-76)

*All odds courtesy of Caesar's Sportsbook on 9/18

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Joshua Van vs

Alexandre Pantoja 2

Flyweight Championship

(Van -140)

Zak Drapeau -

The rematch we've been waiting for almost a year now for the Flyweight Championship between the 24-year old Joshua Van and one of the best to ever do it Alexandre Pantoja. There first fight saw Van's HUGE underdog win thanks to a crazy sequence leading to Pantoja dislocating his elbow in the 1st round. Since their first meet while Pantoja has been rehabbing and plotting his revenge, Van also had one of the Fights of the Year with Tatsuro Taira in May where he won by 5th round TKO.

Joshua Van is a -140 favorite in this fight after being a 2-1 underdog before their 1st. Van is certainly still getting better and a wonderful mixed martial artist but the fact Pantoja is a betting underdog is clearly recency bias. "The Cannibal" Pantoja was on an 8-fight win streak including 5 title wins before his injury and beating the who's who of the division. After a year of watching Van walk around with his title, there's no doubt in my mind Pantoja comes back looking as good as ever and finishes the fight.

Prediction: Pantoja by Submission

Matt Hylen -

I think think has every makings to be one of the best title fights we see in 2026 and possibly in the history of the Flyweight division. If there is anyone on the planet who is a nightmare stylistically for Alexandre Pantoja, it’s Joshua Van.

Van is already putting together one of the craziest runs we’ve seen at the flyweight division at just 24 years old. He has improved with every time he’s fought, developing into one of the best strikers and takedown defense artists in the UFC. His bottom game is top class if you can manage to get him to the ground, but it’s his ability to take instruction from his corner and implement in-fight adjustments that makes him so mentally tough to deal with.

Don’t get me wrong, Pantoja has a very good chance of winning this fight, but the injury to go with the fact he’s 36-years-old worries me. If he can’t get Van to the ground and keep him there, it could be a tough fight for Pantoja. Again, Pantoja has more than enough talent and experience to overwhelm Van on the ground, but Van’s calling card is takedown defense. Look what he did against Tatsuro Taira, who coming into that fight was labeled as the best grappler in the division not named Alexandre Pantoja. I like Van to pull off what I still consider to be an upset and maintain his champion status.

Prediction: Van by Decision

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Arman Tsaukyan vs

Mauricio Ruffy

(Tsarukyan -325)

Zak Drapeau -

Oof, this fight has the capacity to be EXTREMELY interesting or another boring Arman-wrestling masterclass. Ruffy is tough and the kind of fighter you'd expect could stifle Tsarukyan's game even if his previous experience doesn't show that. Ruffy is a tall and long kickboxer with great distance-management and has a jiu jitsu black belt from The Fighting Nerds Camp, however in his last fight with a wrestler was dominated.

If Ruffy was controlled and submitted by BSD, Tsarukyan might have a field day this weekend. Better yet, Tsarukyan's stand up is even better than BSD's too and should make this fight expectedly end in the 1st round. Even though there is a world where Ruffy keeps Arman off of him with his long limbs and takedown defense and proceeds to just pop him from a distance, it is such a long shot I can't see it actually coming to fruition even with how wild the sport has been as of late.

Prediction: Tsarukyan by TKO/KO

Matt Hylen -

It may not be the fans’ choice, but I think this could be a blowout in favor of Arman Tsarukyan. We saw what Mauricio Ruffy looked like against a grapple first fighter in Benoit Saint-Denis and he looked horrible.

Sure, you can say that Ruffy’s entire camp was likely focused on takedown defense and grappling, but there not time that Ruffy spent on defending the grappling that Tsarukyan didn’t spend improving his grappling while wrestling in RAF. Tsarukyan may not be very active in the UFC, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been active in general. He’s spend the entire time between this fight and his last wrestling and dominating st RAF, which should absolutely concern Ruffy. If Ruffy isn’t able to land that one big shot, Tsarukyan should take him down with ease and get an early finish.

Prediction: Tsarukyan by Submission

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Patricio Pitbull vs

Dooho Choi

(Choi -280)

Zak Drapeau -

Doo Ho Choi comes into this match with a 3 fight, 3 TKO streak of very good Featherweight contenders. On the flip side, Patricio Pitbull is 1-2 in the UFC and his only win came by a decision against a past-his-prime Dan Ige. So guess who's going to be favored in this one?

Here's the thing, Pitbull's career long prevails his 3 fights in the UFC and we've seen him fight "favored" fighters before and he will usually come in with a very good gameplan as seasoned veterans do. Choi is multi-talented for sure but I do see how Pitbull coming into this one trying to force grappling and not letting the Korean box from a distance where he's comfortable. It's hard for me to pick Pitbull in this one as the much older and smaller man even if I think he can do it. At the end of the fight, I expect Pitbull to win a round this way but it's more likely Choi wins two with his striking.

Prediction: Choi by Decision

Matt Hylen -

This should be an extremely fun fight, should Patricio Pitbull improve on his last performance. It is still to be determined just how past him prime Pitbull is, but his last fight showed that he has at least something left in the tank.

With that said, I really like the style of Doo Ho Choi. His striking is phenomenal when at his best; I think a lot of people forget how hyped of a prospect he was not too long ago. If he can take over the center and utilize his kicks and jabs efficiently, I think Pitbull could be in for a tough night. Pitbull does hold the power advantage in my eyes, but Choi is much more technically sound, which I think sets him over the edge.

Prediction: Choi by Decision

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Alonzo Menifield vs

Iwo Baraniewski

(Baraniewski -240)

Zak Drapeau -

Don't Blink for this one! Baraniewski is my favorite prospect in the LHW division and quite possibly the most violent man in the entire UFC. He'll be facing Alonzo Menifield who himself has a lot of power but has also shown a propensity to have his lights gturned out against other brawlers.

Baraniewski may be -240 in this one but his odds by TKO are -175 as of now and that is the HAMMER of the entire event. Don't overthink this one, even as good as Menifield is and HE IS, Baraniewski is THAT good and will be fighting Top-5 fights sooner than we think.

Prediction: Baraniewski by TKO/KO

Matt Hylen -

Now if there’s any fight to see on this card (besides the main event of course) it’s this one. This fight is basically a lock to end within round 1. Both Alonzo Menifield and Iwo Baraniewski are absolute brawlers who aren’t afraid to go to war at any point.

To me, the power of these two guys are inseparable. I think Menifield is a little more inaccurate, but Baraniewski likes to keep his chin up way too high when in those crazy exchanges. So, to me it comes down to who has the better chin. At this point in his career, Menifield has been knocked down bad out far too many times for me to think he survives longer than Baraniewski.

Prediction: Baraniewski by TKO/KO

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Tai Tuivasa vs

Robelis Despaigne

(Despaigne -650)

Zak Drapeau -

Uhhhhh... I feel bad for this guy man. Robelis Despaigne is making his return to the UFC after almost 2 years away to fight Tai Tuivasa, a man on a 6-fight skid and with a 5" height and 9" reach advantage. In his time out of the promotion, the 38-year old Frenchman competed in 7 Karate fights with 6 finishes and recently beat Junior Dos Santos at the MVP MMA 1 promotion.

I always say this and I know it's redundant but there is a world where the impossible happens. Despaigne has not had an MMA fight with a fighter in their prime in over 2 years and is used to Karate fights and old guys. I know Tuivasa is nowehere near the spring chicken he used to be but there's a world where he fights a dirty boxing fight and makes Despaigne hold his weight against the cage to get an advantage. I swear Tuivasa by decision (+1400) is ABSOLUTELY worth a sprinkle but I'm still going for the obvious choice in what could be a mollywhopping.

Prediction: Despaigne by TKO

Matt Hylen -

I’m going to keep this one short for you guys. Tai Tuivasa is going to get absolutely destroyed in this fight. He is so far past his prime to the point it’s tough to say whether or not he even had a prime. He has the severe height and reach disadvantage, and apparently went through a brutal weight cut to make the heavyweight limit.

Robelis Despainge could not have gotten a better draw in what will be his second UFC stint. He should absolutely thrive and hopefully send Tuivasa into retirement.

Prediction: Despainge by TKO/KO

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Marlon Vera vs

Charles Jourdain

(Jourdain -220)

Zak Drapeau -

Does anyone else realize Chito Vera has lost 5 of his last 6 and none of them have been particularly close? There have certainly been better days for the former title challenger but now that he's 33 and with much less tenacity then his days of being Sean O'Malley, Chito has been relegated to fighting up and comers instead of ranked fighters... and in comes Charles Jourdain.

Winner of his last 3 with POTN awards attached to each, Jourdain has reinvented himself since cutting down to Bantamweight over the past 2 seasons. His jiu jitsu was already pretty good but has become much sharper and his FOTN with Kyler Phillips in May put him on the map as not just good but exciting, the kind of fighter the UFC wants to give chances to like this.

Prediction: Jourdain by Decision

Matt Hylen -

This fight will either end in round 1 or go to a boring decision. Since I like to be optimistic, I’ll go with the former and believe this will end quickly. Considering Chito Vera loves to only throw strikes when there’s a minute left in round three, Charles Joirdain should find success if he isn’t afraid to throw early.

Chito’s length to go with his kicking ability is extremely dangerous, but he just doesn’t produce output until it’s too late. Joirdain has a big opportunity to get a really nice win on his resume, making me believe that he could throw caution to the wind early and try and get Vera out of there.

Prediction: Joirdain by TKO/KO

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